The God Who Saves

Photo Credit: Benjamin Joyce

(By Theanna Joyce)

Several years ago, I went on a three-day hike with my older brother in Banff. The hike was a mixture of stunning views and blistered feet. I had a wondrous sense of accomplishment for going so far and a great appreciation for the beauty all around me. 

However, there was one point on the second day, when we were approaching the ridge of the mountain, when I almost lost heart. We were climbing through snow, which meant that each step up meant sliding down a little. It was hard going, but we were making progress, and finally the top came into view. What a wonderful feeling! 

New strength filled me, except we reached it, only to discover that it was not the top, but rather a small peak leading up to the actual peak. We had more mountain to climb!

Have you ever felt this way?

Maybe not while climbing a mountain, but have you ever lost heart from the exhausting difficulties before you that seem to stretch on forever? The hardships that seem impossible to overcome? Or maybe you have had victory over something, but then the next day it seems like there is a whole new mountain to climb, and you’re not sure you have the strength.

We hear the gospel preached and we believe it! Christ died for our sins, and we have salvation in Him which means a future in heaven; hooray!

But where is the salvation for today? Where is the victory in today’s struggle? The strength to keep going today? 

There’s a man in the Old Testament who experienced salvation in a powerful and undeniable way. Let’s learn from his story. David was the youngest son in his family. Once, when Israel was at war with the Philistines, David’s father sent him to bring food to his older brothers who were in the battle.

The Israelites stood on one side of a mountain, the Philistines on the other side, and there was a valley between them. Every day, morning and evening, for days, the giant Goliath would come forward and take his stand. He said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together” (1 Sam 17:10).

The Israelites were in terror; their king, Saul, was as well. Who could stand against such an enemy?

Goliath was wearing armor that weighed 125 pounds. He carried a bronze spear with an iron tip that weighed another 15 pounds. He was over 9 feet tall, and he had an armorbearer going before him carrying a shield to protect him. Who could hope to defeat him?

Of course, many of us know the story well. David heard the giant’s threats, and instead of cowering back in fear, he stepped forward in faith. He knew his God. David’s God is the LORD!

He is the same one who saved David from the lion and the bear that had attacked David’s sheep. His name is Yahweh and He has power to deliver! 

There is a sober irony in how King Saul had also seen God’s power and faithfulness in the past; God had given Saul military victories in the past, delivering him from defeat. Yet at some point, Saul had stopped looking to God and stopped obeying God, and now, when he sees this giant before him, he cowers with the rest of Israel; he has no faith that God will save.

Is this us? Are we like Saul? 

Have we forgotten who our God is? Have we stopped looking at Him? Stopped following Him? Has our faith weakened?

Sisters, our God is mighty! He will save you! Cry out to Him in humility and confidence. Humility, because He is so much greater than we are and because we are so quick to wander. Confidence, because He is faithful.

When David ran out to meet the Philistine giant, he cried out, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied… that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand” (1 Sam 17:45, 47).

David’s God is our God too.

He is no less powerful today than He was back then. Sister, do you believe this? Hold fast to this truth!

If your heart is wavering because you cannot see Him saving you now or because you feel He has failed to save you in the past, then cry out a lament asking God to act (such as Psalm 44). Turn to Him because He is your God, and just as He was with David, He is with you.

This passage of David killing Goliath is not included in Scripture as an inspirational story to give you courage to go “giant slaying.” Rather, the narrative shows us that it is not David who won the victory, but Yahweh through David. David was courageous and skillful, but he succeeded because his faith was in God.

Notice again how David spoke of his victory over the lion and the bear: “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (1 Sam 17:37).

He says it was the LORD who delivered him. Yes, it was David’s feet that brought him between the lion and the sheep; it was David’s hands that defeated both beasts, but he knew it was Yahweh who saved him.

And it was Yahweh who gave him victory over Goliath. 

As we face today’s difficulties, the mountains that seem to go on forever, the dark valleys, let us put our faith in our God — the One who is mighty to save.

Those who know David’s story know that he eventually becomes king. He witnesses God’s power in many incredible ways, but he isn’t cruising on the mountaintop for the rest of his life. In fact, David spends a great deal of time hiding in caves and surrounded by enemies. 

But look at Psalm 142 where David still calls God his refuge and turns to Him in prayer.

We live in a time of tension. Jesus was victorious in defeating sin and death, and yet we still might get a bad diagnosis, struggle to make ends meet, and the list goes on. So, what do we do? 

We trust that our God will save.

Jesus tells us in John 16:33, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” 

When circumstances tell you that God no longer saves, at least not you, remember that God chooses what is weak in the world to shame the strong (1 Cor 1:27-29). Who would’ve thought that a young shepherd boy could defeat a giant? And remember Jesus! Who would’ve thought a shameful and bloody death on the cross would mean eternal victory!

I pray that this week you will hold fast to the truth that our God saves. You will have hardship, but, in the words of David, the battle belongs to Yahweh.